Ged O'Connor was named head women's soccer coach at Saint Leo
University in March 2006 after serving as an assistant coach for
the Lions for four seasons. In eight seasons at the helm, he
has a combined record of 89-48-9 and led Saint
Leo to four NCAA Tournament (2006-2009) appearances and an SSC
Tournament Championship in 2008 and 2011. Now in his ninth
season, O'Connor has led the Lions to new heights, including their
highest national ranking in program history, as well as the Lions'
first SSC regular season championship title.

The Lions got back to their winning ways under the guidance of
O’Connor during the 2013 season, finishing the year with a
10-7 mark and producing a four-game win streak during the heart of
their conference play. The team excelled offensively, scoring an
impressive 57 goals and recording 43 assists on the season. In
addition, the team earned several accolades for their performance
throughout the season, including three NSCAA All-Region Selections,
one NSCAA DII All-America Selection, one Daktronics Division II
All-America Selection, one Daktronics All-Region Selection, three
All-SSC Selections, and the Sunshine State Conference's Player of
the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, and Freshman of the Year.
Arielle Kabangu, the Lions’ freshman standout forward, also
led the nation in goals scored (22), becoming the statistical
champion for all of Division II.

Fresh off an NCAA post-season tourament appearance, the 2012
season was a rebuilding time for O'Connor's teams. After losing
eight solid seniors from the 2011 squad, O'Connor brought in eleven
newcomers to help rebuild the program and grow in the longtime
tradition of excellence.

O’Connor guided the Lions to the best season in program
history in 2011 as the squad finished the campaign sporting a
15-3-1 record en route to its first Sunshine State Conference
regular season championship. Additionally, O’Connor’s
group earned the top regional ranking in both the NSCAA and NCAA
poll while finishing the year ranked No. 23 in the NSCAA Top 25
poll. Making their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last six
seasons, the Lions also saw seven different student-athletes earn
18 post season awards, including Cassie Barbaresi’s SSC
Player of the Year and NSCAA All-America Third Team
accolades.

Coming off an SSC Tournament Championship season, 2009 was a
season where O'Connor earned his coaching stripes as the amount of
adversity the Lions faced was unbelievable. Despite everything,
O’Connor still guided the Lions to a 9-6-1 season and another
finish in the top-half of the Sunshine State Conference. A
program that was affected by the H1N1 (Swine Flu) epidemic at the
beginning of the season, saw a number of ACL injuries, weather
cancellations, leukemia as well as other issues, Coach
O'Connor still guided the Lions to their fourth consecutive
berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament. During the 2009
campaign Saint Leo also advanced to the SSC Tournament
Semifinal.

The 15-5-2 record in the 2008 season became the most successful
in the history of the program to that point. Accolades included the
SSC Tournament Championship, two All-Americans, two Academic
All-Americas, five All-South Region recipients, four All-Sunshine
State Conference recipients, and an NSCAA Team Academic Award for
success in the classroom.

The 2007 season saw Saint Leo eclipse its single-season record
for wins with a 15-5 mark overall, a feat matched in 2008, with an
overall record of 15-5-2. In 2007, The Lions also tied their
single-season record for SSC wins with a 6-2 record that was good
for second-place in the league for the second year running.
Saint Leo was also the SSC Tournament runner-up for the second
straight year, and earned the opportunity to host the first and
second round of the 2007 NCAA South Region Tournament.

O'Connor burst onto the scene as the Lions' head coach in 2006,
leading the team to the most successful season in program
history. Saint Leo set a program record for fewest losses (3)
and earned the team's first-ever bid to the NCAA Division II
Tournament. The Lions also advanced to their first-ever SSC
Tournament Final after a runner-up finish in the regular
season. Saint Leo was 14-3-2 overall and 6-2 in the SSC,
during a season that included an eight-game unbeaten run to start
the year and a seven-match winning streak late in the season.
Several players were named All-Conference and All-Region during the
campaign.

During his four seasons as assistant, O'Connor assisted in all
phases of running the program with a special emphasis on
goalkeeping and recruiting. He has been a major part of the rise of
a program that has posted a combined record of 31-15-4 over the
last three years.

Prior to making a return to coaching with the SLU staff in 2002,
he was a professional Irish dancer in 2001-02.

The 1999 graduate of Webber International University was the
starting goalkeeper for four years at the NAIA school. He was named
to the Scholar-Athlete All-Region team at Webber. O'Connor
graduated with a 3.79 grade point average. During the summer of
1997 he was a member of the Runcorn FC Division 5 team in England,
a semi-pro team.

He was named assistant coach of the University of Southern
Mississippi women's soccer team, a Division I program in July 1999.
He was camp director in 2000 at Southern Mississippi's residential
camp for 350 players, and also served as state ODP goalkeeper
director.

From August of 2000 to April of 2001, O'Connor was director of
coaching for the Northeast Louisiana Soccer Association. He
supervised and administered the training and development of over
1,500 youth soccer players between the ages of five and 19.

O’Connor earned his MBA from Saint Leo University in May
of 2004. He also now holds an NSCAA National Goalkeeping License
Level II, and an NSCAA Premier diploma. In addition, the
Manchester, England, native is also a member of the NSCAA coaching
education staff and the chairperson of the NSCAA Regional Rankings
and South Region Committees. An author of numerous soccer
coaching articles, O'Connor is a fan of the Everton Soccer Club and
is a past member of the NCAA Division II women's soccer
committee.

He resides in Wesley Chapel, Fla. and, when away from the pitch,
is also an avid boxing fan and high-level judge.